Undercover
by the gnome
Summary: AU, Ken's a detective assigned to an undercover beat in a club, but the nightlife isn't quite what he was expecting. Shounen-ai/Shoujo-ai. Chap 2 up! Ken meets the regulars
1. Little Boy Blue

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, or anything of worth, so your suing efforts would be useless, ha! Useless I say! No seriously, I'm not out to make any money, just have fun. (and surely that's not against the law is it?)  
  
Warning: Shounen-ai/Shoujo-ai. That is Male/Male and Female/Female romances. For the sanity of everyone involved, please don't bother to read something which will just disgust you if you don't like that sort of thing. Not much in this chapter but a defininte setup here.  
  
  
***  
  
Chap. 1: Little Boy Blue  
  
***  
  
Detective Ken Ichijouji stared blankly at the flamboyant spray of slightly wilting flowers demarking his customarily austere desktop, and tried not to twiddle his thumbs. He wondered, in the idle numbness of boredom, whether they acted as some sort of alarm crying, invalid!, to any passerby happening to glance his way. He sighed, and then as he had about a thousand times before in the course of this long week, reached out to pluck the card from its resting place between two floppy tissue like blossoms.  
  
"You're my hero Ken honey, welcome back! The city's safe with you back on the job! Hugs and kisses, Yolie"  
  
Ken winced as he envisioned his lovably batty fiancée blowing him a kiss. He resisted the urge to bang his head against his desk.  
  
'Back on the job my foot! I've been doing nothing but desk sitting ever since I came back from the hospital! This is ridiculous.'  
  
Thinking back, Ken shuddered as he remembered the pain of the bullet ripping into his back during the drug bust. Thankfully, there was no major damage and he was out of the hospital in a relatively short time, but it seemed as if the whole force had been treating him like he was made of glass since his return. Ken loved his job, and despite its dangers, this inaction left him feeling like he was letting everyone down.  
  
Ever since his brother had been killed by a drunk driver in a hit and run case, Ken had wanted to become a police officer. He looked up to the people who had rightfully brought the person responsible to justice. Now, saddled with nothing but fluff and paperwork, Ken was helplessly frustrated at his inability to be useful. Despite the fact that he had been injured, Ken was confidant that he was one of the best on the job! He was their youngest detective, and his record was nearly spotless.  
  
Grimacing faintly he considered the medal they had awarded him for his recent botched case that had left him with a bullet in his back. 'All that glory heaped on me for the biggest mistake of my life, charging into there and not looking back! I can not believe this. What kind of officer do they take me for?' Nevertheless, it had launched him as a poster boy in the department, precious and shiny as that damned medal, and now apparently, just as decorative. If only they would let him do something to really help, instead of leaving him to sit pretty all the time, wasting his abilities. There was so much service to be done, wrongs to be righted, crime to clean up!  
  
Channeling his restless energy and impotent fury at his sudden psychological demotion, Ken resolved to confront the chief right away about his most unusual case load.  
  
***  
  
"Right, right, I know, Agent Yamaki... Yes it is important to get someone on the case, but..." Lieutenant Gennai sighed. 'Never try to reason with the feds' he thought to himself.  
  
"Honestly sir, I don't know if we have any officers to spare, and its such a weak lead... er, no, of course I didn't mean to imply..." He frowned into the phone receiver hoping that he hadn't just gotten himself in deep shit. If they started researching the department's past...  
  
"Er, yes sir, I'll make sure to get someone right away. Um..." the line went dead. Gennai rubbed his forehead tiredly, wishing that he could explain how exactly he knew that Yukio Oikawa was never coming back to this town. No, that was out of the question.  
  
'Well, never mind, if they want to waste manpower, I guess I'll just have to let them.' He snorted bitterly, recalling what exactly they had asked of him. Right, a regular UC operation. It seemed like Oikawa was back to his old tricks again.  
  
The phenomenon called 'monster' had been seeping quietly into the black market for years now, leaving a bewildering wake of zombie like junkies wherever it passed. It wasn't an oral drug, it wasn't intravenous, you didn't have to smoke or snort it. It was more insidious. It seemed to infect the mind.  
  
It had been created in the laboratory of the formerly prosperous biotech firm called, Hypnos, founded by the brilliant scientist, Yukio Oikawa. For years Oikawa had been doing research concerning artificial intelligence and biotechnology on a grant from the government. The result, 'monster' was not what one would traditionally call a drug necessarily, it was a machine which interfaced with human beings, affecting their minds, taking in their bio rhythms, almost, it seemed, drawing from them, to create a mental image of a life form of great power and intelligence, capable, of great deeds. Oikawa had synthesized its essence into a pocket-sized device and showed his results to the government. They deemed it much too dangerous to exist. They seized all data on the project and had it destroyed.  
  
A few months later, Hypnos had folded. Oikawa had liquefied his company. With the appearance of abandoning the entire field, he had used his assets to purchase various establishments around the country, and lived of the proceeds. He bought, bars, nightclubs, music halls, a few miscellaneous shops, nothing too suspicious. And he had never come back to this town, the place where his great discovery had been created and eliminated.  
  
Or so that was the story. Almost immediately after the closing of Hypnos, traffic on 'monster' devices began. It should have been expected really, its highs were higher than any known substance, it was a one time purchase, no habit to support, it was easy to disguise and transport, and it had no known physical side affects. It merely drove you mad. Investigations on Oikawa had begun immediately, but nothing could ever be traced back to him. He was the only conceivable source of the devices, yet, he seemed more eager to bury monster than even the government. Even so, after all these years, he still remained under suspicion.  
  
The government had finally caught a break in the case, and unfortunately, Lieutenant Gennai realized why they had turned to him. This year, a new variant of monster had appeared, something not requiring the pocket machine in specific, but a program form that could inputted into computers, or even simpler machines like cell phones and pagers. They had dubbed it, 'digital monster', digimon for short. They figured Oikawa had to be at the bottom of it, and maybe this time, they could catch him red handed.  
  
'A criminal always returns to the scene of a crime' thought Gennai. 'That's what Yamaki said.' He remembered the one time he had seen the infamous Oikawa face to face. He had been a young officer in the group that had busted into Hypnos, confiscating the original 'monster' data, under his superior, Sergeant Hida, along with agents from the federal government. "The scene of the crime eh?" he said out loud.  
  
Oikawa owned a club in the strip district popularly frequented by the college crowd as well young professionals. The FBI had asked him to assign a criminal intelligence team there to watch for any activities relating to 'digimon' and to try to maneuver Oikawa or his employees into a trap. Oikawa had never been known to appear in that club, even at the time he purchased it. 'Empty lead' thought Gennai again, 'empty lead...'   
  
***  
  
Ken's eyes widened as he struggled to compute the implications of what was being proposed to him. When he had come to demand that he be put on some /real/ cases, he hadn't expected that the reaction would have been so, well, positive.  
  
"And so, the FBI wants our best men on it Ichijouji. I think you'll be perfect for the job." Gennai couldn't resist smirking a little. This fell into place so neatly! After Ichijouji's injury, his fiancée Yolie had come to Gennai asking if they couldn't keep him out of serious trouble for a while, at least until the wedding... He should have thought of it before, Ken was the ideal stooge!  
  
Ken nodded gravely, thinking out his next statement carefully. "Excuse me sir, but, as you know, I've never been part of an undercover operation before, and I was wondering who else is going to be on this team. Perhaps I could get some advice as to how I should act, or what kind of things I should be looking for..." he trailed off expectantly.  
  
"Oh, you're gonna be on your own on this one Ichijouji. We'll bring in surveillance equipment if you find anything noteworthy. Other than that, we don't want to gamble on sending in anything that might get you discovered as from the police."  
  
"What!"  
  
"Don't get me wrong kid, this is an extremely important assignment, but for now we want it to kind of low profile. The feds want us to get feelers out in all sorts of directions, but they don't want to commit, or even show an indication of making a move until they're sure they can get something concrete. I got it on high authority that there are expectations on this watch, but they don't want to take any chances that this operation would be discovered. You can tell your family, but don't even hint to anyone else what you'll be up to."  
  
Ken's brow wrinkled in consternation. Something sounded awfully fishy about this.  
  
"But Lieutenant, this seems, a tad, devoid of planning. Wouldn't this have a much greater chance of success with specific objectives and courses of action laid out?" He was trying to be polite about his misgivings, but this reeked of, well, sloppiness. Ken could never bring himself to be utterly forgiving of such a thing. He preferred, well, was looking for, perfection...  
  
Gennai screwed up his face trying to make himself look stolid while he concealed the fact that he was looking up into Plato's heaven for a good answer.  
  
"That is, well boy, I don't often say things like this, but I'm trusting this all to you. This case is, well, it's a real chance. The FBI wants this operation as insular as possible, they told me, get someone you trust implicitly. Ichijouji, after your last case, you've shown great bearing and honor as an officer, so, I naturally thought of you. A success here could really move you up the ranks..." 'Ichijouji really is good.' Gennai thought. 'He'll end up on top no matter what happens. Sending him on a bit of a wild goose chase won't hurt him, and for the sake of his wedding, I'll just keep him puffed up and safe on the sidelines for now...'  
  
Ken straightened immediately, eyes shining with enthusiasm and sincerity. "Very well. I understand sir, and knowing you trust me," he paused gathering his resolve and looking his commander straight in the eye. "I promise I will not let you down."  
  
As the young man saluted, took up the case file, then exited, Gennai sighed. 'I hope I'm doing the right thing.'  
  
***  
  
Yolie hummed tunelessly to herself as she focused on the image on the screen, painstakingly checking and rechecking every detail, backtracking at the slightest hint of a flaw. In all her years as forensic pathologist for the police, she'd never encountered such as challenging puzzle as this!  
  
'Click.' Yolie jerked her head sharply as she took in the new variation that appeared on screen. She rushed to compensate. 'Click, click, click...' the mouse veritably flew across its pad.  
  
Ken was surprised to observe her in a clicking frenzy, intent on the computer screen as he entered the apartment they shared. Curious, he padded over toward his, less than attentive girlfriend's side to see what had her so obsessed. 'Probably work' he thought, knowing how dedicated and precise she was.  
  
Catching a glimpse of the screen as he drew near, Ken felt himself halt in embarrassed agitation. Shaking off his apprehension and forcing an uneasy smile he commented a little more shrilly than he would have liked, "Really excited about the wedding huh?"  
  
He didn't know why talk about their wedding always affected him like this. He wasn't frightened, only, at times it seemed such an unreal event to him, like part of the story that he forgot he'd be living through. After all, they had been introduced at work, dated for a couple of years, lived together as amiably as could be, so now, it was only natural that they get married, wasn't it?  
  
Anyway, he swallowed ruefully as he took in the full function of the program onscreen. There was some vague man shaped mock up which he assumed represented himself, standing next to a detailed rendering of Yolie which was currently modeling a beautiful wedding dress. His lovely fiancée was occupied modifying the details of said dress. Having gotten no response from his previous attempt at communication, Ken laid his hand on Yolie's arm and tried again. "Ahem, couldn't you, I don't know, make me look a little better..."  
  
He wished he hadn't asked, as Yolie convulsed in surprise, sending the mouse airborne into the side of his head.   
  
"Hi honey, I'm home." he deadpanned.  
  
"Uh, Ken! Hi! When did you get here?" she finally replied. Her brow wrinkled a little and she continued. "You said something, about you?" When he only stared at her and the computer image incredulously, she began to get an inkling that she had missed something. Ken pointed directly at the vaguely male-ish tux clad little icon. "Me." he repeated, not sounding amused. Yolie's eyes widened in comprehension as she stuttered sheepishly, "O-o-o-oh yeah, you..." she chuckled contritely and put on her most winsome smile, "I uh, kinda... forgot."  
  
***  
  
"Um, Ken..." Yolie tried to interject bashfully, still subject to chastisement for her earlier behavior.  
  
He continued speaking unremittingly. This idea of going undercover into total uncertainty made him feel so apprehensive, it was like he had to get all of his thoughts out. Like unless he laid things out, things would go haywire and his whole life would change.  
  
"I'll be on solo surveillance at a bar owned by Yukio Oikawa downtown. I'm supposed to try and pick up any leads on monster traffic or digimon activity, and as of yet, the assignment seems to be on an indefinite time frame..."  
  
"Ken, Honey?" She tried again, still rather timid in overcompensation, but with more urgency.  
  
"This is very secret and I even debated whether to let /you/ know all the details, but I didn't want you worrying too much," he paused, "what, with our wedding coming up and all..." He almost appeared to shudder.  
  
Now more than slightly miffed, Yolie narrowed her eyes and barked, "Ken!"  
  
Shaking out of his monologue, Ken turned to his fiancée and studied her quizzically.  
  
"What is it Yolie?"  
  
"Oikawa only owns one club in this town."  
  
"That's right honey, that's why I'm being sent to stake the place out, establish a cover and some leverage to expose the..." Ken continued, shrugging off the interruption.  
  
"I've heard about that place Ken, it's..."  
  
He still seemed to be ignoring her, since from his judgment she wasn't making any sense. "If I find any relevant information, they're going to back me up with a full surveillance crew, but for now..."  
  
"Ken!" she tried once more, growing frustrated.  
  
"You can't let anyone know about this, and as far as identities are concerned, we've got no connection with police..." Yolie never listened to him, Ken thought.  
  
Deciding to cut straight to the point, Yolie leveled out the exact fact she'd been trying to get through to Ken during the whole conversation, hoping to finally grab his attention.  
  
"It's a gay bar."  
  
"I'll be posing as a bit of listless barfly, but with a trust fund big enough to cover my vices." he finished. Then he did a double take. "What?"  
  
"Oikawa's club is a gay bar," she repeated, trying not to smirk. Ken holed up in a gay bar for the next few months, what a perfect defense for her wedding! She had to remember to thank Lieutenant Gennai for this!  
  
"Wait, are you sure?" he practically wheezed.  
  
"Of course! Oh, this is so great! Honey, we have got to get you all dolled up!" She fluttered off eagerly, hurrying to assemble a perfect party boy garb for him.  
  
"No, wait, Yolie, stop! Maybe I should talk to the Lieutenant. No, hey what are you doing?" he sighed, getting dizzy trying to trace her flurry of activity back and forth across their apartment. She began stockpiling various strange articles of clothing that she'd found somewhere along with a huge array of hair care products, and even some makeup. "...Yolie, I'm not even going to be starting this assignment until next week!" She kept buzzing along, completely oblivious of his last words. He drooped, knowing the window of communication had been lost.  
  
***  
  
Ken felt ridiculous. Once Yolie had gotten her hands on his wardrobe, he should have known there was no escape. At least she'd given him /some/ say on the matter, but what a choice he'd had to make!  
  
He was clad in a tight blue and white outfit with yellow and black trimming. The sleeves and pant legs were fastened with metallic clasps and he felt a bit taller in the large clunky military type boots he was sporting. He had absolutely drawn the line at that absurd collar, shoulder pad cape thing that she'd wanted him to wear, so the heavy jacket lay unbuttoned about his neck, revealing a plain white shirt, which was elegantly flattering.  
  
Of course that meant he'd had to compromise on his hair and accessories, so his normally long midnight hair was spiked and gelled into a masterpiece, giving off purple and navy blue highlights. He wasn't sure he wanted to wear the strange pair of sunglasses she'd given him, but as he stared at the rainbow colored neon sign blinking, 'digital world', he decided he'd give them a try.  
  
The interior of the club was dark and loud, radiating with the eerie glow of neon signs and weak fluorescent light. Dance music pounded through the building almost like a heartbeat. Weaving through some aesthetically arranged tables and booths, Ken tried to determine for himself a plan of action. Scoping the place out, he realized it wasn't all that large. Near the entrance, the walls were lined with plush looking booths, and it appeared that this was pseudo-dining area for there were various tables laid out in-between. The furniture faded out gradually integrating into a medium sized dance floor, with a bar on the boundary between zones, and more tables and couches lining the sides of the room. One corner of the table area seemed to consist of a stage, probably for live performers. There was a small upstairs area, really resembling a platform that ringed above the dance floor, and it was filled with more tables and booths. It gave a great view for the stage apparently. The second floor sported much dimmer lighting and seemed a little quieter, despite the fact that a space was cleared there for a DJ. The DJ's alcove was currently empty.  
  
Drawing a blank for his next course of action, Ken decided he should simply wait until he could get some inkling of lead or begin pursuing something promising. He plunked himself down on a bar stool, then turned it so he could survey the clientele, looking for anything shady.  
  
He almost jumped out of his seat when a warm hand clapped down on his shoulder. Turning around quickly, he found himself face to face with a handsome young man smiling cheerfully at him.  
  
"What's your pleasure?" the man inquired smoothly, eyebrows quirking expectantly and warm brown eyes twinkling.  
  
Ken had somehow managed to block out the possibility of acting his part by focusing solely on the technical aspect of the job, but now, faced with the reality of it, he broke out into a cold sweat.  
  
"I, uh, er, um..."  
  
The man drew back slightly, running his hand through thick spiky red brown hair. He tugged a bit on the strap of a large pair of goggles he was wearing, then cleared his throat. "Ahem, order? Me, bar guy, Davis?" he paused to hold up a bottle. "Liquor?" The bartender set down the bottle and then tried again, noting Ken's shell shocked look.  
  
"So, I haven't seen you around here before, and I work almost every night. You new here?"   
  
Ken managed a feeble nod, tense and unsure of what to do. When the bartender set down a glass of some kind of clear liquid in front of him, he replied, "Thanks... Davis. Yes, I am new."  
  
Davis reached out a hand patted him jovially on the cheek. "That a boy! Loosen up man, it's not like we bite here, well, not in public anyway... Take a sip of that, looks like you need it." Ken wished immediately for Davis' tan olive complexion when he felt his pale skin flushing. The furred cuff of Davis' jacket tickled his nose.  
  
Taking stock of the man, Ken noted of him his friendly air, and judging from his build, muscular and athletic, a good man to have in fight. Probably a great choice for a bartender. Admiring Davis's soft leather jacket, adorned with bright flames, Ken decided that employees were as good a place to get information as any. He took a deep breath and raised the glass to his mouth for a drink, pleasantly surprised to find that it was water.  
  
Davis moved about continuing to mix drinks but chatted amiably with the nervous newcomer.  
  
"What's your name?" he queried.  
  
"Ke-, I..."  
  
"Kai?"  
  
Ken struggled to pull his act together, building his cover on a whim. "Yeah, Ken Kai actually." He smirked arrogantly, drawing a character out. He had played this game on occasion, and he liked to think he was pretty good. "Some people like to call me... the Kaiser."  
  
***  
  
A/N: Kenyako my @$$. i can see kenyako as a great fake couple, just not a real one, kinda like my opinion of yamasora (ack please don't kill me!). rabid kensuke fan talking here... anyway, i decided to use the dub names for this one 'cause I wanted it set in the US. i ain't even gonna speculate on Japanese night life. btw, i don't really know much about clubs, or police so please forgive any blatant mistakes... just, this idea's been bouncing around in my head for months, and i had to write about it. will definetely be shounen ai/shoujo ai. think kensuke, the rest will fall into place. i will work all my favorite couples into here, just wait! 'runs around with rubber stamp that says denial on it' 


	2. The Green Eyed Monster

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, or anything of worth, so your suing efforts would be useless, ha! Useless I say! No seriously, I'm not out to make any money, just have fun. (and surely that's not against the law is it?)  
  
Warning: Shounen-ai/Shoujo-ai. That is Male/Male and Female/Female romances. For the sanity of everyone involved, please don't bother to read something which will just disgust you if you don't like that sort of thing. Yay! In which lots of cute gay boys flirt their asses off.   
  
***  
  
Chap. 2: The Green Eyed Monster  
  
***  
  
"Some people call me... the Kaiser." Taking off his sunglasses, Ken turned his head gazing sidelong at Davis, waiting to start the game. Laying his hand on the other man's arm, he cocked his head to the left and widened his grin to display gleaming white perfect teeth. He was getting a great start on the case!  
  
Davis, whose face showed parts surprise and amusement, seemed to be holding his breath. The music around them deepened into a dull throb as the program changed to slower style songs; the lights dimmed. They stood still as the noise and bustle whirled around them, while a few long seconds ticked by. Then Davis lost it.  
  
"Bwahahahaha!" he guffawed loudly in Ken's face, slapping his knee before falling back in a fit of laughter. "The Kaiser... haha... that was great man... haha." Davis stopped making drinks and reached out towards Ken's face.  
  
Confused by Davis' reaction, Ken froze. Davis leaned in closer, gently brushing Ken's cheek with his fingertips.  
  
Then he grinned broadly and used his index finger and thumb to give Ken a good pinch on the cheek. "You are such a cutie you know that?"  
  
Slipping his arm all the way around Ken's shoulders, Davis turned them to face his left, then called out, "Hey, TA! You gotta meet this guy!" He waved his free hand wildly at a man sitting on the other side of the bar. Ken's face fell.  
  
The man started walking over as Ken struggled to push down the unsettling disappoi... surprise that had washed over him. Davis pulled his arm from Ken's shoulders and ruffled his errant blue violet coif briefly before moving towards the other man and embracing him in greeting. Ken's throat felt dry and he reached swiftly for his water.  
  
Peering over the rim of his glass, Ken tried to assess this new factor for threats or possible uses, while Davis leaned over the bar and whispered smilingly into the other man's ear.  
  
The stranger looked slightly disheveled wearing a faded green shirt over khakis with his gold blond hair slightly overgrown in the back, but he was tall and good looking with a strong wiry build and soft blue eyes. He murmured an answer to Davis' whispering with a crooked sardonic smile that was at once charming and mocking, while Davis rolled his eyes and made a pout. Ken set down his glass slightly harder than he had intended. He tried desperately to make out their words, to no avail.  
  
Ken swallowed hard. He didn't want to lose his lead.  
  
***  
  
"Oh come on Teek, you gotta help me out here!" Davis leaned close to his friend to keep Ken from hearing him. Virtually speaking into the other man's ear, he hissed, "Just keep him here while I finish my shift. You know I haven't met one decent guy in like forever yo!"  
  
TK grinned in response. "I am so hurt by that statement Davis!" Shrugging and smirking some more, he proclaimed, "I guess there's no accounting for tastes." Davis rolled his eyes and grimaced sourly. Hearing the sound of a glass being slapped down on his bar, Davis looked up, only to find his new love interest looking to flee! Grabbing TK's hand and not giving his buddy time to comment, he hurried toward Ken, determined not to let the boy get away.  
  
By the time they arrived, Davis thought Ken was looking a bit antsy. 'Dammit! If only it weren't so fucking busy in here tonight!' Davis thought. 'Looks like my only hope is handing him over to Teek for a while... at least Mr. 'I'm committed' here won't make any moves on my Kenny-boy. He's so... dreamy...' Davis mentally slapped himself as his thoughts trailed off. 'Argh! Gotta get back to work soon!'  
  
Launching into host mode, Davis began with the introductions. "Ken my man, I want you to meet my good friend TB! He's a regular. He'll show you around right and good. I gotta get back to work but I'll be back to chat with you boys soon." He winked at the two, not giving them time to protest, patted Ken's hand, then rushed off to find some sucker to cover for him.  
  
He didn't know quite what it was about this guy, but Davis really wanted to chase him. Life could be so black and white. Good, bad, interesting, boring, mostly polar extremes, and Davis tended to let the people pass him by, an endless progression of stereotypes of people he pretended to know, and who he knew drifted meaninglessly in and out of his life. The digital world was his life. He lived here, worked here, all his friends came here, and life was nothing but a colorblind mess without this place. Inside, there were rainbows and lights, music and adventure, and every so often, a vibrant splash of color would paint its shade over him, letting him see the world anew. And Ken's violet eyes were hard and dark, shining tones of confidence and solitude. Davis wanted to paint his world with it. He wanted to blend it on his canvas.  
  
Davis was shocked back into conscious thought when he ran into one of their newer bartenders. Well, actually, Davis was the oldest bartender they had, most of them left after college, so career bums like himself were left to train the young ones. "Hey kid! Watch where you're going." he grumbled good-naturedly.  
  
The boy, who's name was Takato, apologized sincerely, a little intimidated by the head barman. "Gosh, I'm so sorry Davis, I really should have looked where I was, I didn't mean to bump into you like that..." Davis sighed, he liked the kid, but he could be kinda, well, femmy. But he was a nice guy, and Davis grinned at how well things played into his hands. Hooking his finger around to snap the strap on Takato's goggles, oh he did love a good trend, he replied benevolently, "Oh, don't worry about it kid, I could be convinced to forget if say, you and some buddies cover the bar for me for a while. I think its about time for my break."  
  
Takato brightened immediately. "Oh sure thing Davis!" He paused to point towards their back room. "Here come Rika and Jeri now. I'm sure they'll be glad to help." Ignoring the fact that three new kids behind the bar was going to be a mess, Davis just smiled and said, "Great, I'll see you all in a little while."  
  
As the girls reached their stations, Davis remembered something, and turned to Takato, asking, "So how's your boy Henry, kid?"  
  
The girls rolled their eyes at the mention of Mr. Wonderful, knowing Takato would inevitably end up spewing flowery poetry if he wasn't stopped. "Amazing as usual. He's so adorable when he's all wrapped up in work, but its sad because I don't have as much time with him, but we manage because..."  
  
Sweatdropping, Davis cleared his throat, and interjected, "Er, cool. Good luck on the tips kids. Lates." Slipping through the gap in the bar, Davis quickly circled back to where he'd left Ken and TK, ready to be suave and showing all smiles.  
  
"So, did ya miss..." he began, only to end staring in horror at two empty bar stools. He remained in a stupor with his mouth hanging open staring at the vacancies for a moment, before pumping his fist angrily and proclaiming to the air, "Damn you KT!!!"  
  
"Who the fuck is Katie?" Rika wondered archly, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"I don't know, but I really hope he doesn't expect to score with the women in this place..." Jeri replied.  
  
***  
  
"So, your name is... Tuberculosis?" Ken inquired confusedly. Davis' sudden departure had put him a bit out of sorts.  
  
TK hung his head in resignation. "No, no. It's not teaching assistant either, no matter what you hear from Davis." He looked up and smiled ruefully, "TK actually, short for Takeru. My grandmother's Japanese." Takeru shook hands firmly with Ken.  
  
"I'm Ken Kai. I've been called the Kaiser, but um, Davis doesn't seem to have taken to that name..."  
  
"Oh, don't mind him. He's a bit of a scatterbrain sometimes." he chuckled. "So how'd you come by a nickname like that?"  
  
"Er," Ken stalled. "Actually its from playing soccer." He decided to draw on his own past, figuring he'd make fewer mistakes the closer to the truth he stayed. He had played soccer in his youth, and there had been some comments on his, rather dictatorial style of play...  
  
"They say I used to command my teams like the general of an army y'know, and it kinda stuck..." He never should have said such a strange thing to Davis!  
  
A voice from behind him chimed in. "Well well, a fellow soccer buff! Davis is gonna like you!" Ken turned to see the source of the voice, while TK waved at the dark haired man who had apparently spoken.  
  
"Hey Tai, nice to see you. This is Ken," TK nodded to him, "the Kaiser. Davis asked me to show him around since he's new here."  
  
"Good to meet you man." Tai replied. Turning to TK, he clasped hands with the younger man, then said, "How's it hanging there little bro? Dave pimping you out again? Nothing's better than a soccer guy, well, except maybe musicians..." As TK growled in response, Tai turned back to Ken. "Aw, I had to give up my soccer dreams when I decided to become a regular old salary man, but it's nice to see some other aficionados. Why don't you and TK come sit with us." he motioned to a booth on currently occupied by another blond man. TK looked ready to say something, then he suddenly started beeping. Pulling a green trimmed PDA from his pocket, he rushed off saying he had to take the call. Tai for his part laughed and waved, then led Ken along to the booth to meet his partner.  
  
Swept up in the events, Ken cast one last look at the bar, but didn't see Davis anywhere.  
  
***  
  
By the time they were about to settle in to the booth, TK had returned to Ken's side. 'Must have been a quick call.' Ken thought.  
  
"Maybe we should get back to the bar, you know, Davis'll probably wonder where all his customers went..." TK muttered, looking long suffering.  
  
Meanwhile, Tai offered a hand to the man who had been sitting at the booth, saying, "Look what the cat dragged in Matty! Your little brother and a fresh piece of meat, courtesy of our good friend Davis."  
  
Rising, the man countered saying, "What a nice way to put things Tai. I'm sure TK and this fine young man enjoy being used in your sick childish games. I know I do." He turned around and motioned for the two younger men to move into the booth past him. As Ken scooted by, the other man said, "Pleased to meet you, my name's Matt. I'm TK's older brother. I guess you've already met my simpleton of a boyfriend, Tai over there."  
  
Even objectively speaking, Ken thought, if TK was fresh faced and handsome in a boy next door kind of way, and Tai was down to earth and ruggedly attractive, this man was an Adonis. Graceful and slender, his long blond hair flowed like molten gold, and his ice blue eyes set in creamy white skin were piercing. He seemed straight out of some Nordic myth, and Ken felt strangely out of place, wondering what a no nonsense cop like himself was doing in a crew of male models. He thought this would have been much simpler just sitting at the bar and chatting with Davis all night.  
  
Matt shuffled over once more, his black on black silken clothing rustling softly as Tai slipped into the booth next to him, beaming as he threw an arm around the other man. He tugged on his blue and yellow athletic jersey, then put on a serious face. "Well Mr. Kaiser, what are your intentions towards our little brother here." Tai nodded solemnly while Matt snorted derisively at his lover's antics.  
  
TK meanwhile seemed to have reached his threshold of annoyance for their teasing. "How many times do I have to tell you two, I have a boyfriend!" In response to the laughing which ensued from the older men, TK continued vehemently, "I'm committed!" They laughed harder.  
  
Swallowing his misgivings Ken decided he had to get off his ass and gather some info before things got too carried away. Drawing a blank on how to approach this from a case angle, Ken asked the first thing that came to mind. "Um, so, I've been meaning to ask you, TK, are you and Davis um..." he paused, making crossing gestures with his fingers, "er, you know, seeing each other or something..." Ken didn't think he was a homophobe, but the idea of them together made him really uncomfortable for reasons he couldn't explain!  
  
If anything, the couple's laughter only got louder, while TK looked at him slack jawed and shook his head in negation. "No way in hell." he replied flatly, continuing to shake his head in bemusement. "I have a boyfriend dammit!" he exclaimed once more in the face of Matt and Tai's raucous laughter.  
  
More relaxed, Ken thought he might as well get the whole story. "They don't like your boyfriend?" he asked TK.  
  
"You mean the mystery man? Ha, are you sure he exists there Teek?" Tai teased. Matt swatted his boyfriend on the arm for being mean, but couldn't conceal the trace of a smile on his face. Ken, a bit baffled by this urged, TK to continue.  
  
"Oh for the last time, I see him a lot, this is his hometown! It's just that he's off at school for most of the year."  
  
"Yeah, TK, I personally find that whole cradle robbing aspect of your story mildly disturbing..." Matt leveled at his brother.  
  
TK buried his head in his hands and sighed. "He's a grad student, like you Matt! Lay off will you. Just because I met him over the internet doesn't mean anything, jerks!"  
  
"Yeah, but Matty's a career student, been in grad school for what, eight years now? Your boy's just started out." Tai shot back.  
  
"All right, enough both of you. TK's got a right to live his life." Matt tried to stop the crossfire, since TK was looking more than a bit offended. Tai looked to be opening his mouth again until Matt elbowed him.  
  
"Ow! You always take his side!"  
  
"Aw, did I hurt you? Let me kiss it and make it better."  
  
TK sighed again and slapped his forehead. Meanwhile Ken was wondering if they'd notice if he slipped back to the bar all by himself.  
  
***  
  
For about a few minutes Davis wandered around like a chicken with his head cut off, peaking at tables and booths and seeing a whole lot of things he didn't want to. After scanning half of the place, he came back to the bar for a second to reevaluate the situation. Where could that dork have taken Ken!  
  
Beside him, two bottles of beer slid across the counter into the hands of a short redhead, who laid some money down in exchange. He seemed quite familiar to Davis, though it took him a second to place.  
  
"Izzy, is that you?" The man turned to face him.  
  
"Davis, how've you been? Not working tonight?"  
  
"Well sort of... Hey, you guys don't make it out here often, how are you?"  
  
"Good, good. Joe's got the night off from the hospital, but he didn't feel up to some kind of heavy-duty formal night out. We thought we'd just catch a few drinks, then rent a movie or two. Normal old couple stuff, you know." Davis smiled as Joe approached his lover from behind and caught him in a surprise embrace.  
  
"Hello Davis, great place you work at here." he said, still hugging Izzy.  
  
"Hi Joe. Thanks. Have you talked to Jim lately?"  
  
"Oh yeah, he and Jun and the baby are all fine it seems. They think she might start walking soon." Their smiles all faded slightly, and Joe began again, "It's really a shame that your parents won't let..."  
  
"That's okay man, I handle it." Looking away slightly, Davis remembered what he had been doing. "Say, have you guys seen a dude with blue hair, about so high," Davis waved his hand a vague distance over his own head, "you know, a real hottie. I left him with TK and they jetted. He seemed to like me though, so he might still be in here..."  
  
"Sorry Davis, the only blue haired hottie, I've seen all night is right here." Izzy replied, patting his boyfriend's arm.  
  
"Wait, I saw TK talking to Tai and Matt, with some other guy over there." Joe said, pointing in the direction opposite of the portion Davis had surveyed.  
  
"Great!" Davis exclaimed, and bolted in that direction, eager to have a chance with the handsome and shy boy Ken.  
  
"Hey Davis, hold up!" Izzy exclaimed.  
  
"We wanted to talk to Matt and Tai anyway." Joe finished.  
  
Davis practically bounced in place waiting, as his brother in law and the man's lover grabbed their beers and hurried after him.  
  
***  
  
"Don't worry guys, I'll get them home safely." TK said to Ken and Davis, of the four older men.  
  
"Aw, are you sure you all have to go already?" Davis replied. "It's Friday night, you alls. What do you have to do tomorrow anyway?"  
  
"Make mad passionate love!" Tai exclaimed tipsily, cheered enthusiastically by his lover and the other couple present. "Yeah, lets dance some more!" Matt added, not moving a muscle from where he was draped happily over Tai.  
  
"I've got a shift tomorrow night, and me and Izzy still have some movies to watch, thanks though." Joe replied. He and Izzy had drunk significantly less than Tai and Matt, but didn't want to drive home buzzed either. They agreed to let TK borrow their car and drive everyone home.  
  
"Yeah, and I've got an article due on Monday that I wanted to work on. Matt's got some more research in the lab scheduled for tomorrow too so..." TK continued.  
  
"Well I don't have anything to do." Tai interjected.  
  
"Fine, but I don't think you'll be wanting to make mad passionate love all by yourself Tai. Matt would be upset if you did that too." TK told him.  
  
"Oh. Okay then." he agreed, beginning to doze off.  
  
"It was really nice meeting you all." Ken said sincerely. He was still completely sober, having had nothing but water to drink.  
  
He, Davis, and TK eventually succeeded in loading everyone safely into Joe's car and they waved goodbye to the boys speeding away.  
  
Ken and Davis reentered the bar together, Davis going back to manning the bar, and having time to chat with Ken thanks to extra bartenders and a smaller crowd.  
  
"So how'd you get to meet those guys anyway?"  
  
"It was weird. We all used to live in the same neighborhood growing up. In retrospect its like all the fruits just gravitated together, but growing up, it didn't seem like that. You know how harsh kids can be, and all of us felt different you know."  
  
Ken could relate to that. He'd always felt like an outsider in his childhood. Even now he had a reputation as a bit of a loner. Aside from Yolie, he didn't know if he had any real friends. He normally concentrated on work to escape that feeling.  
  
"Well, like I said, we were like a group of misfits, and none of knew exactly what we had in common but just, we fit together, understood each other you know. We went through some normal teenage stuff, like Matt tried dating one of the girls we hung out with, or like, everyone thought that TK would grow up and marry Tai's little sister, stuff like that, but it just seemed so wrong."  
  
"Like a part of the story you forgot you'd be living through?" Ken asked.  
  
"Exactly! Like I remember Tai was like my idol, and I used to terrorize his poor little sister, because I kept telling myself that if I liked him so much, wouldn't it be great to date his sister? You know, that kind of thing. You should've seen the way Matt would run when my sister used to chase him!"  
  
"You have a sister? Oh yeah, I think Joe mentioned that..."  
  
"Yeah, she's married to Joe's brother now. I don't get to see them a whole lot." Davis nonchalantly changed the subject. "You know how we all figured it out was when Tai asked out Izzy. Matt and Joe were totally jealous. Didn't work out though, Tai's a little too, well, Tai, for Izzy. Just opened the closet door for the rest of us. But everyone's got stories about how they came out. Bet yours is a killer."  
  
"Uh, yeah..." Ken covered, embarrassed.  
  
"So, I had a great time tonight. I hope those guys weren't too much for you."  
  
"Not at all. Thanks for showing me around Davis. I had a good time too." Ken realized he hadn't really gotten far in his case, but figured it helped to establish connections too. Sighing regretfully, he tried to excuse himself. "Well, I guess I'd better be going soon. Maybe I'll see you here again sometime Davis."  
  
Davis was in far too good a mood to let him go so simply. "It's a long way 'til closing time Ken."   
  
Unsure of what to do, Ken stayed silent and looked down at his hands.  
  
"Or maybe you'd like to come see my place, I live in the apartments above this place you know."  
  
Ken looked up sharply. He felt like an awful prude, with his cheeks burning pink. This could be a great opportunity to scout things out for his case, but if it were real, he doubted he could agree to such a proposition. Ken felt torn about how to act! He could get quick info, but he would sacrifice his reputation and he certainly didn't want to move so fast! "I-I... I can't..."  
  
Davis smiled warmly at him. "Relax Kenny-boy, I'm just kidding with you. It's fun to play sometimes. I hope I'll see you around again."  
  
Ken sighed in relief, but felt cautious that he didn't want to waste the work of the night. Not knowing exactly what possessed him to continue, he said "So Davis, I was thinking some time, maybe the two of could, well, I don't know a lot about this city, and..."  
  
"You want to go out?" Davis supplied helpfully. "Sure! I'm working here all day tomorrow, but I've got Sunday off. Maybe you could stop by the club tomorrow, and we can think of some places for me to show you on Sunday." Ken nodded dumbly.  
  
"Great, I'll talk to you then okay!" Davis replied, elated. Just then some mildly intoxicated students called to Davis for more drink, and he rushed off, but stopped to give Ken a quick peck on the cheek. "Bye!"  
  
Ken walked out into the cool night and began his trek back to the apartment, wondering about the feeling of climbing into bed beside Yolie, when could feel the glowing mark of lips on his cheek.  
  
Covering it with his hand, he muddled along looking for where he'd parked his car alongside the street. He fumbled for the keys with his other hand, until a thought struck him like rumbling thunder. Dropping his keys and both of his hands, his eyes widened as he thought to himself, 'I've got a date.'  
  
"Oh my god, I've got a date!"  
  
***  
  
A/N: wow, its extremely tough to type Matt when you want to type Yamato, or jyou or daisuke or koushirou, takeru, even miyako!!! anyway, enough of that, i hope this was convincing. i can't imagine a world without ken and dai in love well enough to write about their meeting, wah! next time, in which, ken meets lesbians and then goes on a date with dai! yay! plus his first brush with 'digimon', and who is takeru's boyfriend, and what does miya-chan think of all this? hmm, it would've been fun to make jun a lesbian too, but it didn't fit into the story as well. sigh. Oh, and during the part with the 03 characters, i was struck by the hilarity of the name fusion for Takato x Li == Takari... i'm weird. 


End file.
